Sri Ramakrishna advised the householders to spend time in retreat, solitude, and holy company. In this way the “chronic disease” of worldliness, also described as “mundane human convention” by Lex Hixon, could be lessened, and love for God intensified. As Shankaracharya sings in Bhaja Govindam: “From the company of the good arises nonattachment, from nonattachment arises freedom from delusion, from freedom from delusion arises steadfastness, and from steadfastness arises liberation in this life.”
Spring, Summer & Fall Retreats
In 2009, SRV Associations is offering three retreats and Babaji is leading a pilgrimage to India.
Spring: Retreat on An All-Inclusive Advaita
Summer: American River Retreat over Guru Purnima
Fall: Mother Kali Retreat
December 2009 Pilgrimage: Sri Ramakrishna world headquarters in Kolkata, Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Benares, Delhi, and Rishikesh. If you are interested please contact Babaji directly.
Elucidation from Babaji
on retreats and Jnana (spiritual Knowledge) and the blessings they confer:
There is nothing quite like Jnana these days, and imbibing it via transmission from the Guru makes short work of any vestiges or encroachments of delusion and illusion visiting the mind in unwanted fashion.
There is another facility for Jnana Yoga according to Swami Vivekananda. We, as inheritors of the Vedanta Science, are the ushers of a new era, the harbingers of a new type of man and woman. The West, whether it is known or not, represents the proverbial phoenix rising out of the sacrificial ashes of ancient India. The sun may rise in the East, but it sets in the West. What a great calling, then, what a grand responsibility to encounter for all interested sons and daughters of our Wisdom Mother!
Do you see the grand picture? How marvelous it is? What a part we all play, we who have been chosen by Ramakrishna to awaken spiritually in ourselves and in others? Maintain yourself, then, as a part of this great awakening. School your mind in the atmosphere of the highest wisdom mankind is privileged to receive. Place yourself again and again in the heat of Jnana Yoga until the mind leaks away its tired and timorous tendencies and shines with the strength and resilience of Jnanagni – the Fire of Wisdom. Then, having received on the deepest level this inner boon, meditate in peace and let the soul mellow and mature. All of this and more is happening, in ongoing fashion in our very lives, at our SRV Retreats. May Shiva’s own Wisdom illumine us! Moreover, these periods of sangha seclusion will be flavored lavishly with the sweetness of worship, the chanting of God’s Names, and the boon of Holy Company.
This is my invitation to you, then, my challenge, my gift and offering, under the auspices of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Sri Sri Ma, and Swami Vivekananda. Let us gather.